◆ RK: What are these... and weaknesses
◆ Seel: What are they doing here and is there anything activating / controlling them.
◆ Command Doxie
"Ah! What are these things"?
◆ Stride
◆ Strike: Claw... these things don't look too tasty.
Claw
Talons (Slashing)
When a Hellknight is decapitated, the ghostly undead known as a hellcrown is an occasional result. Consumed by the desire to bring about order by inflicting cruelty, hellcrowns haunt battlefields and abandoned castles, slaying all they encounter. Hellknights regard hellcrowns with a mixture of disgust and respect, considering the individuals who transform into these floating undead to have been resolute in purpose but weak in body.
They can fly, are undead, but they aren't resistant to anything nor weak to anything either. Each hellcrown usually possesses unique abilities related to the Order it served in life. Like most undead, they are immune to death effects, disease, paralyzing, and poison
Oppa thinks back on what he knows about Hellcrowns while commanding Doxie to pounce!
She does, critically slamming into the blue Hellcrown, crushing it under her talons into a malformed hunk of metal.
Round 2- Hellknight Horrors
Stom
Samael
Hellcrown Yellow 7 damage
Violant 4 damage
Hellcrown Green 9 damage
Oppa/Doxie
Lyra
Samael will juggle out a second dagger, stride forward, and
Stom squeezes past Samel to move to the other side of the hellcrown and then swings his axe at the creature.
◆ Stride
◆ Strike
◆ Strike
Samael throw a distraction dagger, giving Stom a chance to hustle around the ground and deliver a powerfully critical blow, smashing the tiny undead helmet into a pulp.
Round 2- Hellknight Horrors
Stom
Samael
Violant 4 damage
Hellcrown Green 9 damage
Oppa/Doxie
Lyra
Violant takes a step and sends another ball of fire at the Hellcrown, wondering what form of connection it has to the order since it sent out... a literal nail. In a place associated with the Order of the Nail.
Violant launches a small sphere of fire, engulfing the crown, it writhes in pain, before glaring evily at Violant.
It screams from no known mouth, the sound reverberating off the walls before flying froward to launching two more nails at Violant.
Round 2 / 3- Hellknight Horrors
Stom
Samael
Violant 10 damage
Hellcrown Green 15 damage
Oppa/Doxie
Lyra
Stom rushes over to the last remaining enemy, jumping over the barrier in the middle of the room. "Your oath has been fulfilled. Join the river of souls!"
◆ Stride
◆ Strike
◆ Strike
Samael will juggle out a playing card.
Samael will damage.
Samael will damage.
Between Stom and Samael they are able to bring down the last Hellcrown, the necromantic energies possessing the helmet falling still.
Searching this Ossuary, you guys find many shrouded, decaying bodies of former Hellknights. Being careful to not disturb the bodies, you guys spend some downtime searching the room.
Altogether you find a a number of mundane rings, amulets, bracelets and other trinkets worth about 12 gp. Though Alak frowns a bit at this bit of grave robbing.
Additionally you find one small 9.5 inch wooden stick, decorated with pearls and silver. Violant believes it to be magical.
Its a wand of Heal (1st level)
With few options left, you guys explore the door at the end of the room. Opening it you guys find a room with rows of large, metal-and-stone lockboxes line the winding walls of this storeroom, as do occasional shelves and what look like filing cabinets intended for the storage of documents. The lockboxes hang ajar, having been opened and emptied long ago. A set of obvious tracks in the dusty floor suggest someone recently moved about in here. A pile of ashes and a few melted candle stubs lie atop a low table in the center of the room.
You can piece together the mysterious visitor’s movements—they entered from area B17 and went to the center of the room where the ashes and melted candles are, before moving to the door to B13. At that point, the tracks retreat to area B17’s door—these tracks indicate the unknown person was running
Alak steps up, "This place looks familiar," He makes his way carefully around the vaults, looking in a few key places. After a few moments, he reverently pulls a small box out from a vault with a false bottom. He pulls a key from his belt, unlocks the box, and finds his family’s signet ring placed carefully there on a bed of crushed velvet. The armiger slips the ring on a finger and is quiet for several minutes. "I remember sitting on my father’s lap and turning this ring on his finger when I was but a boy," He says softly, a warm smile on his face, looking reverently at the ring, "Thank you for reuniting me with those memories, my friends. You have the Order of the Nail’s gratitude—and mine.”
Searching the rest of the room, you guys are able to find 4 scrolls; Darkness, Darkvision, Heal and Magic Missile.
Additionally, thrown into a dusty corner, looking much like a forgotton silver paperweight, you find a large silver medallion, with a woman's face in profile, facing left, wearing a smiling mask on the back of her head.
This is a holy symbol of Alseta, a curious trinket to find lying about in the dust of a long abandoned Hellknight castle.
Using his time of being on the road as his guide, Stom attempts to determine the path of the tracks left in the dusty.
"It is no problem, Alak. I've heard stories of Hellknights ranging from heroic deeds of rescuers to horrid torturers -- so it was enlightening to hear and read about this Order's duties and its stories."
Violant then turns her head... and her attention isn't caught by scroll or wand, it's caught by the holy symbol, immediately. "What... what in the Welcomer's name is her holy symbol doing here? Both her and the Hellknights are lawful, yes. But Alseta acts more as... impartial Arbiter. It'd be Axis's job, along with its inevitables, to slay Chaos at its source -- so out of the three gods I worship, Otolmens would be closer in duty to Hellknights... so why is there a holy symbol of Alseta here?"
She picks it up, examining the face in profile, then turns to Alak. "Do... you know why this holy symbol is here? Alseta to me has been with me about as long as your signet ring has been in your memories, so I'd... personally like to keep this. It hasn't been with me as long as the holy symbol around my neck has, that... has admittedly been with me since I was around eight or so," she says with a chuckle, remembering how she was introduced to the Welcomer all those years aho by a Chamberlain passing through Roslar's Coffer.
She then goes silent for a few solid minutes, threatening to tear up remembering... everything. The Radiant Fire, Lastwall, her home, so many memories she would have to go through mountains upon mountains of undead just to revisit.
Alak steps over to take a look at the Holy Symbol of Alseta, "Hm, it appears to be pure silver, not sure if our blacksmiths made it, but it looks old. Really old. I've never heard of Alseta having any relation with Hellknights though, it is strange. Maybe some old trophy from conquests past, used as a paperweight or held onto to use for melting down and turning into a sword,"
Lyra looks over the wand and her eyes brighten as she examines it. "This is a wand of heal! I have a feeling this will be very helpful in the rest of our exploration of the citadel." Lyra takes the wand and carefully places it in her bag.
Listening to Stom describe the tracks in the dust Lyra suggests that we should head down that way to investigate.
Samael will collect his weapons, and, after some healing occurs, he will say "Let's go through this door next," indicating the door to B17.
Opening the last door, you find various storage racks and cabinets clutter this long, narrow space. Some are empty, though others still contain dusty banners with the Order of the Nail’s sunburst insignia, stylized Asmodean paraphernalia, and other trappings clearly designed for formal funerals. Curiously, in the back of the room, a dirt-walled tunnel opens in the wall and stretches into the gloom; and a set of tracks leads from this tunnel to the door leading back into the vaults.
Spending 10 minutes searching this room, you find a large fully intact and not moth eaten banner. When unfurled its a huge, 10 lb flag for the Order of the Nail, likely worth 30 gp to the right collector.
The tunnel extends as far as you can see, trending into darkness beyond your eye sight.
You believe this tunnel was built long ago using magic. You can imagine how long it would have taken to magically dig this tunnel, given its location though and how its incorporated into the Dungeon itself, likely was acting as an escape tunnel for Hellknights
Violant gathers the rest of the scrolls, surmising to copy what she doesn't have into her spellbook later. She isn't, however, as enthusiastic as she was about Acid Arrow, an easily manipulatable spell. She takes and strings the holy symbol around her neck, placing it next to the nearly two-decades old holy symbol that the visiting chamberlain once gave her.
"Should we clear the rest of this place before heading down the tunnel? The wand of heal should help us if we manage to get hurt while exploring."
"Dunno. I can't tell what this is... Today."
"Sure. Let's finish this place first."
Arcana
"Cool Trinkets. I suggest we leave the personal items with the dead. I'm still conflicted on what happens after we die and would prefer not to take any chances".
Oppa then walks over to the tunnel down and peers in.
"Hmmm! This tunnel was created with magic, not the honest work of picks and shovels. I say we finish up here before risking travelling down some old magically created tunnel".
Oppa takes some jerky from his pouch, and first offers a bite to Doxie... which for the first time ever she refuses, belching and shaking her head. Oppa shrugs and pops the Jerky in his mouth.
"Oh how sentimental. Alak finds his father's ring, and Violant finds a keepsake of her weird god. Maybe we'll run across my swaddling cloth in the next room. Almost brings a tear to my eye".
"I'm going to be blunt, Oppa," the professor says as she heel-turns, her lips bleeding a little. "The holy symbol is one of the few keepsakes I have from back home in Roslar's Coffer. Apologies if I get a little sentimental when I find another. And given how deep this tunnel looks, it isn't exactly what I would call dishonest work. Might have been done in secret though, that'd warrant using magic to do it."
She pauses a little, looking through the scrolls, then turns her head up to face Oppa and ask a question. "I do have another question, can you learn spells from scrolls? I've seen you utilize magic before, I figured I should ask."
Responding to Violant and agreeing with Oppa, Lyra pipes up “I think it might be wise for us to finish exploring this level of the basement first before we head down any magically built tunnels. Who knows what’s down there or where it exits!”
Stom tries his best to interject as Oppa and Violant discuss the newly found 'trinkets'. "Oppa, I can't fault someone being attached to a doll, or a ring, their god's holy symbol. Myself, I'm attached to sharp blades, sturdy armor, and a mug of ale. Very likely, you are attached to someone I'd find worthless." Stom shrugs. "That's just the way of things."
Hoping to leave that topic behind for now, Stom quickly moves on. "I agree with the group. That tunnel could go on a ways - for who knows how far. Let's explore that center section first."
Gathering your group and setting off to finish exploring the rest of the dungeon, Alak comments, "I'll help you finish the rest of this, but now that I've found my ring I need to head back to Varisia. They don't give us Armigers much leave, and I don't want to be late returning,"
You guys pass back into the middle hallway, again running into the struggling tied up birds, that continue to roll around on the floor in distress.
Heading toward the middle wing and set of door ways, you guys notice another wing to the right that you never found where it connected to inside the crypt, following the tunnel down you quickly find it comes to a dead end.
Alak, Stom and Oppa all give it the cursory glance, examining the smooth wall for anything out of the ordinary. Stom realizes there is a something odd about one of the smooth stone bricks and when he places a hand on it, it pushes in, revealing a hidden doorway.
Inside the room, Six looming, raised daises stretch from east to west in this chamber, each bearing a massive stone coffin with a carving of a fully armed and armored Hellknight lying in stately repose. Upon closer inspection, the details of the various weapons and minor variations in the armor of the figures distinguish these tombs. Two of the coffins loom ominously open. The east wall bears a complex series of inscriptions composed of faintly glowing pale blue runes.
Stepping in to explore the room, as adventurers are want to do, two creatures sit up in the coffin, undead eyes aglow!
Wights are intelligent undead spawned through inescapable cycles of spite. This spite might come from their own malevolent will in life, or can be instilled by necromantic rituals, typically involving the desecration of burial sites. Wights usually haunt burial grounds, catacombs, or other places of the dead. Their hunger is targeted toward the living—those whose pumping hearts and ruddy warmth inspire visceral hatred. creatures slain under a wight's curse can become wights as well, all it takes is a single wight and a handful of unlucky graveyard visitors to create a veritable horde of these undead. Thus, canny priests and adventurers know that the best solution to a wight problem is swift and total eradication. Care must be taken, though, to destroy wight spawn before attempting to destroy the parent wight, for spawn without a master gain the ability to create spawn of their own.
Round 1 - Which Wight is Right
Samael
Stom
Alak
Violant
Red Undead
Oppa / Doxie
Blue Undead
Lyra
Stom attempts to hold back his anger, but he cannot contain it as the undead beings appear in his vision. Knowing that the coffins would be difficult to squeeze between and that Violant and Oppa are nearest an enemy, Stom draws his greataxe, squeezes past his allies, and charges at the undead on the other side of the coffins.
◇ Rage on initiative
◆ Draw Greataxe
◆◆ Sudden Charge
Samael moves behind Stom, pulls out the hatchet, and slashing and sneak attack damage
Stom and Samael run past Violant and Oppa, leaving Lyra to fight the other Wight. Stoms lays in with a vicious blow from his greataxe but the wight dodges.
Samael took advantage of the distraction and launched a handaxe, it thunks into the wights undead flesh, wounding it slightly.
Alak runs into the room, assessing the tight corridors and hopefully has a plan that'll aid him and Lyra. "Uncommon to find so much undead, I wonder why theya re so restless!"
He runs past Lyra, runs up to the Wight and attempts to reposition it, so Lyra and him can flank.
Instead he is stopped dead in his tracks by the angry Undead creature, unable to reposition, his plan failed.
Round 1 - Which Wight is Right
Samael
Stom
Alak
Violant
Red Undead
Oppa / Doxie
Blue Undead
Lyra
Violant sends out, as is usual at this point, two bolts of electricity from her fingertips, magically guided to (almost) never miss, one at each Wight.
The two undead are shocked by these adventurers blasting them with lightning.
But not that shocked!
The red undead hesitates in front of Alak, you notice its seems to be struggling to attack him. It will try to reposition past him to get to Lyra.
It grabs him and spins him around, then steps off to attack Lyra.
Able to make one claw swipe at her.
You are cursed by the terrible energies of the Wights attack, it saps your life force. Need a Fort Save DC 17 or suffer a curse; Stage 1 drained 1 (1 round); Stage 2 drained 2 and doesn't treat any creatures as allies (1 round); Stage 3 As stage 2, except drained 3 (1 round); Stage 4 As stage 2, except drained 4 (1 round). Every round you make a fortitude save or the curse strengthens
Round 1 - Which Wight is Right
Samael
Stom
Alak
Violant
Red Undead 2 damage
Oppa / Doxie
Blue Undead 6 damage
Lyra